Sheet-metal cover for cans



(No Model.) .L

Q E. NORTON.

Sheet-Metal Cover for'Oans. No'. 235,280. Patented Dec..7, I880.

N.PETF.RS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGION, D, C.

signed to be closed air-tight.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN NORTON, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHEET-METAL COVER FOR CANS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 235,280, dated December '7, 1880.

Application filed June 4, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN NORTON, of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Sheet-Metal Covers for Oans, Fruit-Jars, and Metal Packages; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in sheet-metal covers for cans, fruit-jars, and metal packages, in which the metal cover is secured and applied to the body of the package or jar by means of screw-threads or other like coupling devices for fastening the cover upon the can by giving the cover a rotary motion.

Heretofore much' trouble has been experienced from the fact that the covers when firmly screwed down to place become set from the corrosion of the metallic surface, and from the drying up of varnish, paint, or oil in the screw-threads, if the can contains such articles, and from other causes, so that unless a wrench is used it is almost impossible, in many cases, to open them. The wrenches get lost and are not always at hand, and much inconvenience is thereby occasioned to the housekeeper or person having occasion to open the packages.

The object of my present invention is to 0bviate this difficulty, and at the same time provide a suitable bail for handling or carrying the package; and this result I accomplish by securing to the top of the sheet-metal cover a suitable wire bail, which may be used both as a fulcrum for the purpose of turning thecover down upon the can or package, and also as a bail for carrying the package, as the cover is firmly secured thereto by means of the threads or couplings. The bail is secured to the top of the cover by means of a tubularor partly tubular metal strip covering the straight portion of the bail, and soldered over it to the top of the cover, so that the cover is nowhere perforated or punctured, which would be very objectionable, especially in cans or jars de- As applied to sheet-metal packages, I provide the top of the cover with a diametrical groove, in which the (N0 model.)

straight portion of the bail is partially embedded or sunk, and in or to which the tubular metal strip covering the bail is soldered; and I also provide the top of the cover with a circular groove near its rim, in which the circular portion of the bail will fold or lie down in this groove below orjust flush with the top edge of the cover, so that the bail will thus offer no obstruction whatever to packing the cans close, and one on top of another, for transportation. By sinking the straight portion of the bail in such diametrical groove in the top of the cover a better and stronger, as well as neater, construction is' attained, and no part of the bail projecting above the top surface of the cover, it offers no obstruction to the cans or packages being piled one upon another for the purpose of transportation or storage, which otherwise would be a very serious objection to the use of bails on such cans, and, 011 account of inconvenience in packing, this mode of attaching the bail has great advantages over the ordinary method of attaching the bail to ears or lugs on the side of the can or package.

As applied to an ordinary glass fruit-jar, the inside of the covers of which are usually provided with a porcelain lining, I can omit the diametrical as well as the circular groove, and attach the bail to the top of the cover by means of the partially tubular metal strips soldered to the same over the straight portion of the bail.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a can and its cover embodying my invention. Fig.2 is a central vertical section of the same on a line transverse to the axis of the bail; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my invention as applied to the cover of an ordinary Mason fruit-jar.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts wherever the same are used in the several figures of the drawings.

A represents the body of the can. B is the can breast or top, and O the can-cover. Both the can-breast and can-cover are each stamped out of a single blank, so as to secure uniformity of size, and the can top or breast is provided with an inturned edge to give strength and rigidity and afford a bearing for a gasket.

The cun-lneust B is provided with short spiral projections or threads,l1,udapted to engage in corresponding; spiral grooves 0 made in the form of n bayonet-catch in the cover U, for securing the same to the can-breast.

The top of the cover 0 is provided with a diainetrical groove, D, in which the straight part of the bail E rests and turns, the same being secured therein and covered over by means of the tubular-shaped strip (1 soldered therein. The circular part of the wire bail E is adapted to lie or fold down into the circular groove 1 near the rim of the cover, the outer wall of which groove F is formed by the groove on the inside of the cover. In unscrewing the can from the cover. or in tightening it upon EDWIN NORTON. Witnesses H. M. MUNDAY, U. W. ALLEN. 

